Best execs develop underlings

When Richard A. Smith attended a recent meeting of managers from very large companies, he asked a blunt question: If you were hit by a bus today, would your company have someone qualified who could replace you? Only 30 percent said yes.

Dave Murphy Saturday, San Francisco Chronicle

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/27/BUG613UUMU1.DTL&type=business

Then Smith pointed out that the other 70 percent are jeopardizing their own chances for promotion. After all, if there is no logical replacement for you, the company would have the extra burden of recruiting and training someone.

"Do you have the skills to develop the people underneath you?" Smith said in an interview. "Those who are able to break out of middle management are focused on developing the people around them."

Those who are able to move up and thrive are the subjects of "The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers," a new book by Smith and James M. Citrin. The authors, both from executive recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, write that besides developing people, the best leaders often have four other career patterns:

— They land challenging assignments even if they don’t seem to have the necessary experience.

— They look for positions that fit their talents, interest and lifestyle, rather than being greedy about compensation.

— They understand their value to companies, whether it’s because of their potential or their technical knowledge, and market themselves accordingly.

— They accomplish tasks that no one expected, helping their companies make breakthroughs.

But Smith said in the interview that focusing on helping others succeed seems to be the most crucial trait, as 95 percent of the people the authors profiled practice "benevolent leadership."

Although chief executive officers appreciate that, Smith said, "When you talk to middle managers, nothing could be more counterintuitive."

Some middle managers do little to train potential replacements because they’re insecure, figuring that if no one else can handle their job, they will be indispensable. But they could be setting themselves up for trouble, Smith said.

"That assumes that the job is indispensable. That’s a very risky assumption in today’s environment."

Smith said two of the five patterns that could particularly help rank-and- filers are being able to land challenging assignments and redefining their jobs so they’re able to accomplish more than the bosses expect.

To get extra experience and land challenging assignments, Smith suggests looking for ways that you could help a potential mentor, so that you could gain some of that person’s knowledge in exchange for your help. You can also volunteer to help on a project even if you won’t get credit for it — trading your sweat for the other person’s access.

As for redefining your job, Smith said many tasks in today’s jobs were sort of cobbled together because of things like layoffs, attrition and predecessors’ preferences, rather than because of some strategic management decision. Look at which tasks help the company the most, and concentrate on how you can focus more energy on them.

On the Fringe runs Saturdays. E-mail Dave Murphy at [email protected].